Thank you to everyone who has called in the last few days with their support. We are eagerly and expectantly waiting on the Lord to see what he has in store.
This morning I got to have a great meeting with a couple of men who would like to help by adding their services to the mix and offering a more in depth type of experience for those pastors that would like to make a change in the system in which they operate. It was a very encouraging conversation and we look forward to filling in the details of this kind of help to pastors. More info on this to come.
Thanks,
Mateo and Leslie.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Just wanted to give everyone a quick update.
We are still praying and fasting at different times this week for the retreat center and continue to feel like this is the way that God is leading us.
This last weekend we went to Maupin to help at the FemX (an offshoot of the CruX games I work with and help organize). Check out the pictures of the homestead we found on our adventures.
Love you all,
Mateo and Leslie
We are still praying and fasting at different times this week for the retreat center and continue to feel like this is the way that God is leading us.
This last weekend we went to Maupin to help at the FemX (an offshoot of the CruX games I work with and help organize). Check out the pictures of the homestead we found on our adventures.
Love you all,
Mateo and Leslie
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
This last weekend we attended our church's retreat out at the Wildhorse Canyon Young Life center in Eastern Oregon. The time was great and the speaker very challenging. He spoke on praying for fruit, moving from surviving to significance, not seeking growth in the church but impact, and the prayer that coincides and leads each of these shifts. The talk on prayer was especially challenging for me.
He talked about the way we "protect" God in our prayers. We (I) don't always ask for what I want or need because I don't want God to fail. I want to insulate Him from failure to answer my prayers. So I will pray in vague terms and tell him that He is sovereign.
The speaker also mentioned fasting and said that it increases the effectiveness of the prayer. He quickly followed if we were asked for the theological answer to why this happens the best answer is, "I don't know."
It just seems to be the way that God set it up.
The speaker then relayed a story from his personal life where he was diagnosed with a terminal disease and the elders came and prayed for him. The him'd and hawed about God's sovereignty and His plan for the speakers life and it made the speaker more and more sad. Then of the elders got in the hospital bed with him and gave him a hug and prayed, "Father please let Ed live and serve." It was a simple and direct prayer and it was exactly what was needed. That prayer was sent out to the church prayer groups and then around the world to the missionaries that the church supported. Very soon there were over 10,000 people fasting and praying, "Father please let Ed live and serve."
That was 8 years ago. He has not been healed but lives a normal life. Last week he met with his doctor and he is the only one with this disease in the entire world that has lived this long and the only one with it that lives a normal life.
Another example of this is with my friend David. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him and his body just kept shutting down. Again thousands of people from all around the globe started to pray for him and he recovered.
My Dad used to tell me that correlation does not impute causality, basically just because two things seem to be related does not mean they are. And that is why I absolutely love what the speaker had to say. He said that there is not some formula to get God to respond miraculously. God does not work like that. He will not be mocked and His ways are above ours. But He does have the heart of a Father and responds to us in that way. He hears our prayers and answers them every time.
The Israelites prayed for a deliver from the oppression of Egyptian Pharaohs and received it. They cried out at the injustice, the feelings of abandonment, the tortured deaths of their family members. They cried out for the promises of the Lord to come to pass. Their Father with the eternal perspective answered them but he waited for 250 years before He answered them.
This side of heaven we will never know the Father's complete plan nor the effect that our prayers and fasting has on the Father, but until then we are called to make disciples and pray without ceasing.
This week we are praying for the retreat center. We feel like it is something that has been laid on our hearts and we we have changed our prayers to a very simple request. We are asking God for a retreat center by July 1st. Our lease is up the 30th of June. We wait patiently and expectantly for his provision.
We would love your support in this by prayer and fasting with us. We are fasting today and continue to pray this throughout the week.
We love you all and thank you for the support you have always given us.
Here's to the God eternal invisible who is able to do all without us but chooses to use us to bring to Himself the glory.
M&L
He talked about the way we "protect" God in our prayers. We (I) don't always ask for what I want or need because I don't want God to fail. I want to insulate Him from failure to answer my prayers. So I will pray in vague terms and tell him that He is sovereign.
The speaker also mentioned fasting and said that it increases the effectiveness of the prayer. He quickly followed if we were asked for the theological answer to why this happens the best answer is, "I don't know."
It just seems to be the way that God set it up.
The speaker then relayed a story from his personal life where he was diagnosed with a terminal disease and the elders came and prayed for him. The him'd and hawed about God's sovereignty and His plan for the speakers life and it made the speaker more and more sad. Then of the elders got in the hospital bed with him and gave him a hug and prayed, "Father please let Ed live and serve." It was a simple and direct prayer and it was exactly what was needed. That prayer was sent out to the church prayer groups and then around the world to the missionaries that the church supported. Very soon there were over 10,000 people fasting and praying, "Father please let Ed live and serve."
That was 8 years ago. He has not been healed but lives a normal life. Last week he met with his doctor and he is the only one with this disease in the entire world that has lived this long and the only one with it that lives a normal life.
Another example of this is with my friend David. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him and his body just kept shutting down. Again thousands of people from all around the globe started to pray for him and he recovered.
My Dad used to tell me that correlation does not impute causality, basically just because two things seem to be related does not mean they are. And that is why I absolutely love what the speaker had to say. He said that there is not some formula to get God to respond miraculously. God does not work like that. He will not be mocked and His ways are above ours. But He does have the heart of a Father and responds to us in that way. He hears our prayers and answers them every time.
The Israelites prayed for a deliver from the oppression of Egyptian Pharaohs and received it. They cried out at the injustice, the feelings of abandonment, the tortured deaths of their family members. They cried out for the promises of the Lord to come to pass. Their Father with the eternal perspective answered them but he waited for 250 years before He answered them.
This side of heaven we will never know the Father's complete plan nor the effect that our prayers and fasting has on the Father, but until then we are called to make disciples and pray without ceasing.
This week we are praying for the retreat center. We feel like it is something that has been laid on our hearts and we we have changed our prayers to a very simple request. We are asking God for a retreat center by July 1st. Our lease is up the 30th of June. We wait patiently and expectantly for his provision.
We would love your support in this by prayer and fasting with us. We are fasting today and continue to pray this throughout the week.
We love you all and thank you for the support you have always given us.
Here's to the God eternal invisible who is able to do all without us but chooses to use us to bring to Himself the glory.
M&L
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Life:
"It seems that when we don't make time to have time we don't have any."
"When God made time he made enough."
The last couple of messages at our church have been about our identity As Christians, we believe we have been saved from the penalty of the actions we have taken against God and mankind, we are being saved from the power of these temptations and will be saved from the presence of these options when we go to heaven. But if we only look at the problem we might have a hard time seeing the solution.
Tim, our pastor, has been challenging us to seek out who we are in Christ. For Leslie and I, simply trying to find a quite minute seems difficult. And we want to start a center for pastors to rest! It seems that who we are determines what we do. By trying to better understand who we are and more importantly who He is, our life is lifted from the mundane to deep meaning; from surviving to thriving with and in Christ.
Please continue to pray and fast for us this week, your support is a great encouragement!
Love
M+L
"It seems that when we don't make time to have time we don't have any."
"When God made time he made enough."
The last couple of messages at our church have been about our identity As Christians, we believe we have been saved from the penalty of the actions we have taken against God and mankind, we are being saved from the power of these temptations and will be saved from the presence of these options when we go to heaven. But if we only look at the problem we might have a hard time seeing the solution.
Tim, our pastor, has been challenging us to seek out who we are in Christ. For Leslie and I, simply trying to find a quite minute seems difficult. And we want to start a center for pastors to rest! It seems that who we are determines what we do. By trying to better understand who we are and more importantly who He is, our life is lifted from the mundane to deep meaning; from surviving to thriving with and in Christ.
Please continue to pray and fast for us this week, your support is a great encouragement!
Love
M+L
Monday, May 05, 2008
Life is full of Craziness
This week we are praying and fasting for the retreat center. Specifically that God would give us a retreat center by July 1st the end of our lease. It is a big request but love your intersession for us.
It is not my might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord!
Thanks to everyone who has called and offered their support.
M&L
This week we are praying and fasting for the retreat center. Specifically that God would give us a retreat center by July 1st the end of our lease. It is a big request but love your intersession for us.
It is not my might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord!
Thanks to everyone who has called and offered their support.
M&L
Friday, April 04, 2008
Another week has gone by since spring break, Leslie has gotten back to work and the sun came out for a couple days. It is currently snowing on April 4th!
Over the last few weeks God has begun to reveal to us more people who are like minded in creating a retreat for Pastors. Our hope is at some point to meet with some of these people to pray together and brainstorm ideas.
Currently Matthew and I are praying about begining by doing a mini retreat for ministry workers. We have found some cabins in the area that are not used year round and we want to try to coordinate some of this off time and send ministry couples away or a weekend or two. Our goal for this first step towards the retreat center would be to provide all the meals, desserts and drinks and do all the clean up after the weekend. We hope that by figuring out a system here we will do better when we have a center of our own.
We are looking for a way to keep you all updated on our prayer requests. Currently we would ask that you pray for guidance, provision and that God would bring the people into our lives that He would want to be a part of this.
Over the last few weeks God has begun to reveal to us more people who are like minded in creating a retreat for Pastors. Our hope is at some point to meet with some of these people to pray together and brainstorm ideas.
Currently Matthew and I are praying about begining by doing a mini retreat for ministry workers. We have found some cabins in the area that are not used year round and we want to try to coordinate some of this off time and send ministry couples away or a weekend or two. Our goal for this first step towards the retreat center would be to provide all the meals, desserts and drinks and do all the clean up after the weekend. We hope that by figuring out a system here we will do better when we have a center of our own.
We are looking for a way to keep you all updated on our prayer requests. Currently we would ask that you pray for guidance, provision and that God would bring the people into our lives that He would want to be a part of this.
We have had a great time this last week. Leslie was on Spring break and was able to hang out with friends and have a great time just catching up over coffee. She spent most of the day Friday working with the Equine club members as she fills in for the instructor who is on Maternal leave.
This weekend we roped a few friends into helping us with a ponderous project at our house in Corvallis. We have been trying to fix it up to sell for the last few months and have had trouble trying to paint it. We have had two painters unable to finish the job because of weather and that has pushed back our other projects. So this weekend we decided that we were just going to push through even though the paint was not done.
I was so excited to go that I actually woke up at 3:00 am on Saturday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. We had asked our friends to be at the apartment at 6:00 am (I know, we’re crazy) and so we got out of bed at 5:00 and got doughnuts for everyone and were on the road at 6:20. Alex, Jenni, Leslie and I drove over together and Seth met us in Corvallis. It was a beautiful drive with fresh snow, the sunrise over the mountains and a beautiful river to follow for most of the dive.
When we arrived we broke up into teams and attacked the gardens and out side for the majority of the day with Seth working on trimming out the house. All the old junk that had been sitting in the shed for the past three owners (more the a decade) was removed and taken to the dump. To give you an idea of how much junk had accumulated in this shed, this was our second trip to the landfill and we deposited more then 3000 lbs. In addition we found 6 gallons of used antifreeze, 10 gallons of old paint, 10 quarts of used motor oil, 1 gallon of paint thinner, and a can of neon green spray paint. All of these last items we are having to find alternate ways of dealing with because they are all toxic.
On the way do the dump we got an impromptu lesson in air dynamics as a tarp we were using to keep everything down caught the wind and lifted the 50 lbs cinder block out of the trailer and threw it at the car behind us. Luckily our tarp has terrible aim and missed the car but the chunks that came of the block after it hit the ground also went in to the oncoming lane and it took 15 minutes to clean it all up.
We all made it through the day fairly unscathed and slept well that night.
This weekend we roped a few friends into helping us with a ponderous project at our house in Corvallis. We have been trying to fix it up to sell for the last few months and have had trouble trying to paint it. We have had two painters unable to finish the job because of weather and that has pushed back our other projects. So this weekend we decided that we were just going to push through even though the paint was not done.
I was so excited to go that I actually woke up at 3:00 am on Saturday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. We had asked our friends to be at the apartment at 6:00 am (I know, we’re crazy) and so we got out of bed at 5:00 and got doughnuts for everyone and were on the road at 6:20. Alex, Jenni, Leslie and I drove over together and Seth met us in Corvallis. It was a beautiful drive with fresh snow, the sunrise over the mountains and a beautiful river to follow for most of the dive.
When we arrived we broke up into teams and attacked the gardens and out side for the majority of the day with Seth working on trimming out the house. All the old junk that had been sitting in the shed for the past three owners (more the a decade) was removed and taken to the dump. To give you an idea of how much junk had accumulated in this shed, this was our second trip to the landfill and we deposited more then 3000 lbs. In addition we found 6 gallons of used antifreeze, 10 gallons of old paint, 10 quarts of used motor oil, 1 gallon of paint thinner, and a can of neon green spray paint. All of these last items we are having to find alternate ways of dealing with because they are all toxic.
On the way do the dump we got an impromptu lesson in air dynamics as a tarp we were using to keep everything down caught the wind and lifted the 50 lbs cinder block out of the trailer and threw it at the car behind us. Luckily our tarp has terrible aim and missed the car but the chunks that came of the block after it hit the ground also went in to the oncoming lane and it took 15 minutes to clean it all up.
We all made it through the day fairly unscathed and slept well that night.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Easter Weekend and Spring Break
This last weekend we stayed with Leslie's parents in PDX. We had a great time with our family and got to play with our niece and nephew. We had home made soups breads and desserts compliments of my mother-in-law.
I spent most of the weekend taking apart the instrument panel, then the radio, then the steering column and eventually the whole dash and a crossbeam of the frame to replace a heater core in our car. Only after 10 hours of this was I able to find the part the auto shop sold me was the wrong size. I tried to explain that they had sold me the wrong part but they insisted that their system said this one would work. It did not. So my brother-in-law helped by melting the plastic case the core fit in and I jammed it into place and screwed it down. When in doubt, use more power.
We hope you are doing well and if you are in Corvallis this weekend we are having a work party to get the house ready to sell.
Hope all is well and for those of you who have been trying to reach Leslie, she has a new phone so she should be able to get your calls.
TTFN.
This last weekend we stayed with Leslie's parents in PDX. We had a great time with our family and got to play with our niece and nephew. We had home made soups breads and desserts compliments of my mother-in-law.
I spent most of the weekend taking apart the instrument panel, then the radio, then the steering column and eventually the whole dash and a crossbeam of the frame to replace a heater core in our car. Only after 10 hours of this was I able to find the part the auto shop sold me was the wrong size. I tried to explain that they had sold me the wrong part but they insisted that their system said this one would work. It did not. So my brother-in-law helped by melting the plastic case the core fit in and I jammed it into place and screwed it down. When in doubt, use more power.
We hope you are doing well and if you are in Corvallis this weekend we are having a work party to get the house ready to sell.
Hope all is well and for those of you who have been trying to reach Leslie, she has a new phone so she should be able to get your calls.
TTFN.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Well another week has gone by and with a whole lot of prayer, fasting, and seeking the Lord we have made it through. Let's recap the week: Mateo and Leslie both worked hard at their jobs and both had unique things happen. Leslie had Parent teacher conferences and Matthew went to a COCC class on starting a business in Oregon.
Yesterday we went to a dinner and a play with a teacher from Leslie's school. It was a very cute play about the princess and the pea done in a musical with a school orchestra and a great set. It was quite comical and had several very good singers.
News of the Retreat center:
I (Matthew) got to meet with the owners of the house and explain a little more what we were hoping to to as well as take some pictures and movies of the place. Just going back was a great experience and although the clouds were covering the mountains, I took some great shots of the rooms and small courtyard. (check out the new album)
We still feel like God is leading us in this direction and eagerly pray and wait to see how he is going to make it all work out.
It was encouraging to speak to a pastor early this week and share our heart for the place. He was very excited and asked if I had spoken with another member of the church with a very similar vision.
I was introduced to the other man and we had lunch together to compare notes and see how God was leading both of us. God has been working in his heart for the last 5 years to reach out and minister to Pastors. He believes that money spent in the care and restoration of this group of people is the best possible use of money in the ministry as these men and women have such a huge impact on so many others. He has already started a non profit with the goal of building or buying a lodge or large house to turn into this place of ministry. He has many plans and has visited other retreat centers of the same philosophy. He has also done much research and even some surveys on how best to serve this group of people.
It was really exciting to hear what God had been doing in his life and although we don't know exactly know how we will work together in the future, we were both encouraged to hear each others' hearts for this group of people and find that God has been moving in both of our lives to this goal.
I will look up his web site and try to post it so you can see the awesome vision and work that he has put into this idea. Again we don't know if we are to work together but we look forward to seeing how He works out His plan for both of us!
We love you all and look forward to hearing back from you soon!
M+L
Yesterday we went to a dinner and a play with a teacher from Leslie's school. It was a very cute play about the princess and the pea done in a musical with a school orchestra and a great set. It was quite comical and had several very good singers.
News of the Retreat center:
I (Matthew) got to meet with the owners of the house and explain a little more what we were hoping to to as well as take some pictures and movies of the place. Just going back was a great experience and although the clouds were covering the mountains, I took some great shots of the rooms and small courtyard. (check out the new album)
We still feel like God is leading us in this direction and eagerly pray and wait to see how he is going to make it all work out.
It was encouraging to speak to a pastor early this week and share our heart for the place. He was very excited and asked if I had spoken with another member of the church with a very similar vision.
I was introduced to the other man and we had lunch together to compare notes and see how God was leading both of us. God has been working in his heart for the last 5 years to reach out and minister to Pastors. He believes that money spent in the care and restoration of this group of people is the best possible use of money in the ministry as these men and women have such a huge impact on so many others. He has already started a non profit with the goal of building or buying a lodge or large house to turn into this place of ministry. He has many plans and has visited other retreat centers of the same philosophy. He has also done much research and even some surveys on how best to serve this group of people.
It was really exciting to hear what God had been doing in his life and although we don't know exactly know how we will work together in the future, we were both encouraged to hear each others' hearts for this group of people and find that God has been moving in both of our lives to this goal.
I will look up his web site and try to post it so you can see the awesome vision and work that he has put into this idea. Again we don't know if we are to work together but we look forward to seeing how He works out His plan for both of us!
Prayers Requests:
We have also been battling some health problems (Matthew had bronchitis for two weeks and still has a poductive cough and Leslie has not been feeling well) as well as spiritual protection. I am no expert when it comes to this last area but I really believe that as we trust and see God move in big ways, it is met with opposition. Emotionally, physically, and spiritually it has been tough and seems to be getting tougher. Prayer for wisdom, discernment and healing would be wonderful.
Please pray also that God will financially and emotionally provide for this huge opportunity. We have been praying that He would work it out so we could move in before our lease is up in July. Your prayers in the same directions would be great!
We love you all and look forward to hearing back from you soon!
M+L
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Right now we are finding ourselves seeking God for guidance and praying for His provision.
Some of you may have gotten our letter and if you haven't, we are still trying to find addresses for you. If you don't receive a letter by e-mail or snail mail, please leave us a comment sharing with us your address so we can update it in our address book.
If you didn't receive it we will tell you a little bit about where we are.
We have been praying about the future and what serving God is going to look like for us. Many ideas have come and gone. Some hang around waiting to be pursued in the future. One dream/vision Matthew has had for many years is a retreat center; a place where people, pastors, pastors’ wives and children can come to find rest and rejuvenation.
Four weeks ago we attended a party at a friend’s parents' house. The house is a beautiful log cabin just a few miles outside of Sisters. While there Leslie had the vision of this house as a retreat center. After learning that the house was for sale, Leslie mentioned this to Matthew. For the next two weeks, she prayed about it and on the third week shared with Matthew that she believed we are to pursue this house. Matthew called the owner and we made a date to visit.
As Matthew shared that our hope was to buy this place to provide a retreat for others, the owner began to share with us her story of looking for a retreat. When her husband found this place they knew it was the retreat his wife had been looking for. They have used it over the years to bless many. Youth groups have used it as a retreat center, friends and family have found it to be a place of peace and rest.
As she walked us around the property she told us,”This place is God's and I have always known it.” We were blown away by the work she has done on the place, sharing with us stories about the pink and blue tile and purple paint she found when they first moved in. The house is much different now and she has done a beautiful job making it a unique space. One of the unique pieces we really enjoy is the stain glass windows in the living room that were salvaged from an old church in Montana. We learned that the afternoon light shines through in such a way as to illuminate the living room with beautiful golden light. The house sits on 11 acres with a pond, a barn, a two car garage with an apartment and a three bedroom house with four baths. From the upstairs there are views of the mountains and as she walked us around the property we found many beautiful spots where one could sit for hours and enjoy Gods creation.
Our vision for the property is not unlike the owners’. We hope to set it up as a non-profit and use it as a place where people can come to find rest and rejuvenation. Specifically those who are in ministry, though we would like to have it open for anyone in need. We are continually praying for guidance and provision as we begin to pursue purchasing this property. As this is God's house we know that to be able to buy it God would have to provide, and the property is priced almost $2 million.
We have also been praying that we would be able to by the house by the time our lease is up in July. We know that these are huge requests but also have seen and believe God can move in great ways. Until He closes the door, we will continue to pursue this dream we believe he is leading us to.
We would love to share more with you so if you are in Central Oregon or have a few minutes give us a call.
Love M+L
Some of you may have gotten our letter and if you haven't, we are still trying to find addresses for you. If you don't receive a letter by e-mail or snail mail, please leave us a comment sharing with us your address so we can update it in our address book.
If you didn't receive it we will tell you a little bit about where we are.
We have been praying about the future and what serving God is going to look like for us. Many ideas have come and gone. Some hang around waiting to be pursued in the future. One dream/vision Matthew has had for many years is a retreat center; a place where people, pastors, pastors’ wives and children can come to find rest and rejuvenation.
Four weeks ago we attended a party at a friend’s parents' house. The house is a beautiful log cabin just a few miles outside of Sisters. While there Leslie had the vision of this house as a retreat center. After learning that the house was for sale, Leslie mentioned this to Matthew. For the next two weeks, she prayed about it and on the third week shared with Matthew that she believed we are to pursue this house. Matthew called the owner and we made a date to visit.
As Matthew shared that our hope was to buy this place to provide a retreat for others, the owner began to share with us her story of looking for a retreat. When her husband found this place they knew it was the retreat his wife had been looking for. They have used it over the years to bless many. Youth groups have used it as a retreat center, friends and family have found it to be a place of peace and rest.
As she walked us around the property she told us,”This place is God's and I have always known it.” We were blown away by the work she has done on the place, sharing with us stories about the pink and blue tile and purple paint she found when they first moved in. The house is much different now and she has done a beautiful job making it a unique space. One of the unique pieces we really enjoy is the stain glass windows in the living room that were salvaged from an old church in Montana. We learned that the afternoon light shines through in such a way as to illuminate the living room with beautiful golden light. The house sits on 11 acres with a pond, a barn, a two car garage with an apartment and a three bedroom house with four baths. From the upstairs there are views of the mountains and as she walked us around the property we found many beautiful spots where one could sit for hours and enjoy Gods creation.
Our vision for the property is not unlike the owners’. We hope to set it up as a non-profit and use it as a place where people can come to find rest and rejuvenation. Specifically those who are in ministry, though we would like to have it open for anyone in need. We are continually praying for guidance and provision as we begin to pursue purchasing this property. As this is God's house we know that to be able to buy it God would have to provide, and the property is priced almost $2 million.
We have also been praying that we would be able to by the house by the time our lease is up in July. We know that these are huge requests but also have seen and believe God can move in great ways. Until He closes the door, we will continue to pursue this dream we believe he is leading us to.
We would love to share more with you so if you are in Central Oregon or have a few minutes give us a call.
Love M+L
So it has almost been a year since we posted last. We have decided to be a little more diligent in this as so much is happening and we don't always remember everything when we get to talk with you all. So here it goes.
Almost a year in review...
This last summer, we moved into an apartment in Sisters. If you stand on one leg and lean to the left you can see one of the Sisters mountains form our living room. The apartment is great; it has three bedrooms and two baths and is 1100 sq feet. We have a guest room, so please come visit.
Leslie has been working at Bend Senior High and loves it. The staff and students are great and the drive sure beats I-5 which she used to commute. On her way in the morning the sun is rising and reflecting off the sisters mountains to the right. On her way home the light makes the sisters mountains look pristine.
Matthew is working at Rescue Response Gear, a search and rescue equipment company. He is learning a lot and is able to use many of his skills to help the company. Including saving it from flooding when a pipe burst up the street and flooded into their lot. He made the front page on that one:)
We are both doing search and rescue now, Leslie is still going through the training and Matthew is brushing up.
We have wonderful fellowship within our home group. There are many young couples we have met who have a passion for God and growing in their walk. It is great to be surrounded by likeminded people.
We have enjoyed many outdoor adventures. Snowmobiling with Ben and Ella was our most recent adventure. We had a great time!! The snowmobiles took a beating, but while we where trying to fix one of them we decided to build a snow cave which turned into a snow slide!! If you got a running start at it you could cruse through the tunnel we built. Unfortunately on our way back one of our snowmobiles ran out of gas... Matthew went and got more gas, while Ben started a fire. Ella and Leslie made a snowman and gathered wood for the fire. Wood was hard to find so Ella and Leslie took to breaking down dead trees!! Thankfully Matthew came to the rescue and we made it off the mountain as the sun was setting, it was beautiful.
So winter is almost over, though it could still snow over here up until June. We had the first BBQ of the year over at Alex Cretzingers house. He had just bought mini-bike and the guys wanted to try it out.
Through out the last year we have been constantly provided for, and taken care of by our Heavenly Father. All of our financial needs have been meet every month and even the surprise bills and misadventures, through prayer and hard work have been satisfied. He has also been guiding us through some of the harder work of the heart. Though it has not been easy, He has been faithful to give us the strength to see it through. In this we have been blessed with a deeper character and understanding of dependence on Him. WE ARE SO BLESSED!
Without much detail that is where we have come, and next we want to tell you where we are going...
Almost a year in review...
This last summer, we moved into an apartment in Sisters. If you stand on one leg and lean to the left you can see one of the Sisters mountains form our living room. The apartment is great; it has three bedrooms and two baths and is 1100 sq feet. We have a guest room, so please come visit.
Leslie has been working at Bend Senior High and loves it. The staff and students are great and the drive sure beats I-5 which she used to commute. On her way in the morning the sun is rising and reflecting off the sisters mountains to the right. On her way home the light makes the sisters mountains look pristine.
Matthew is working at Rescue Response Gear, a search and rescue equipment company. He is learning a lot and is able to use many of his skills to help the company. Including saving it from flooding when a pipe burst up the street and flooded into their lot. He made the front page on that one:)
We are both doing search and rescue now, Leslie is still going through the training and Matthew is brushing up.
We have wonderful fellowship within our home group. There are many young couples we have met who have a passion for God and growing in their walk. It is great to be surrounded by likeminded people.
We have enjoyed many outdoor adventures. Snowmobiling with Ben and Ella was our most recent adventure. We had a great time!! The snowmobiles took a beating, but while we where trying to fix one of them we decided to build a snow cave which turned into a snow slide!! If you got a running start at it you could cruse through the tunnel we built. Unfortunately on our way back one of our snowmobiles ran out of gas... Matthew went and got more gas, while Ben started a fire. Ella and Leslie made a snowman and gathered wood for the fire. Wood was hard to find so Ella and Leslie took to breaking down dead trees!! Thankfully Matthew came to the rescue and we made it off the mountain as the sun was setting, it was beautiful.
So winter is almost over, though it could still snow over here up until June. We had the first BBQ of the year over at Alex Cretzingers house. He had just bought mini-bike and the guys wanted to try it out.
Through out the last year we have been constantly provided for, and taken care of by our Heavenly Father. All of our financial needs have been meet every month and even the surprise bills and misadventures, through prayer and hard work have been satisfied. He has also been guiding us through some of the harder work of the heart. Though it has not been easy, He has been faithful to give us the strength to see it through. In this we have been blessed with a deeper character and understanding of dependence on Him. WE ARE SO BLESSED!
Without much detail that is where we have come, and next we want to tell you where we are going...
Sunday, March 11, 2007
The next day we went back with my parents to get the car. We measured the path we had taken the day before and found that after three and a half hours we had hiked 9 miles. When we got back to the car my dad just started it right up. Leslie thought this was funny, much to my relief. (Upon further inspection we discovered that the starter was going out) But now with the car running and a little time to kill we had lunch and then spent another 45 minutes chopping up the tree in to smaller pieces and pulling it out of the way.
We dove about a hundred yards and came to another down tree. It was getting late so we turned around and went back. On the way we found a privy in the middle of the woods and a lake that was frozen over. It looked really thick so my dad tested it out.
Carefully he inched his way out on to the white ground. The top two inches were slush and as he walked his foot prints gave us a great idea. If he didn’t do it himself we would make a hole at the end of his tracks and then have him back out so it looked like someone fell in. We tossed him a shovel and he tried to break the ice. We soon discovered that the ice was too thick to break with the shovel. So again I fired up the chainsaw and cut right through. It was about a foot thick but we didn’t know how deep the water was underneath. So I lowered the shovel into the fridged water to find the bottom. I couldn’t find it and began to draw the shovel back out of the hole. It was then that I caught it on the ice and lost my grip. It dropped into the brown water below the white shelf where I stood.
Very quickly we began to rationalize who would be best suited to jump in and retrieve the lost shovel. First it was me, then mom, then dad. Leslie, seeing where the conversation was going piped up and said aloud the next logical step. And she would not be taking it.
So it was back to my dad. He was a sport and after rigging him with a makeshift waist and chest harness he lowered his skivvie covered body into the water. He grabbed the shovel with his feet and back up we pulled him. It was then a long drive home where my dad warmed up and we were thankful for adventures and daring fathers.
Life is never dull…
We’ll since the last time we wrote you we have had a great adventure and found more clarity in the paths that the Lord is guiding us in.
Our adventure started after a hard day of tough conversations and work. As we were getting to bed, Matthew said, “Lets go for a hike tomorrow, we haven’t done something like that in a while.” Leslie thought that it was a great idea. The next day we got our stuff together and threw it in the back of the car, along with a chainsaw because the last time we wanted to go for a hike we were stopped by a downed tree.
After about an hour of driving, and cutting one tree, we had to chose between another hour of driving but hikeing in the high desert or a closer hike in knee deep snow. We chose the latter.
Now if you are not familiar with Matthew’s idea of fun then what happened next will resonate with you much the same way it resonated with Leslie. After choosing to hike in the snow we started to drive uphill and continue to gain elevation. Soon we were in deep snow and even with the chains on it was slow going. After ten minutes of breaking trail we came to an old growth Doug-Fir across the road.
I jumped out of the car and got the chainsaw fired back up in no time flat barely containing my joy for the challenge before me, the overwhelming sense of purpose and drive to clear the road and rescue my bride from the eminent danger from this tree. Leslie on the other hand could not fathom why we were wasting such valuable “us” time on cutting up a tree when we could be hiking. But being the supporting wife that she is, she let me have my fun and just prayed for me in the warm car as I showed that behemoth of a plant who was boss.
At hour mark Leslie was changing her prayers from encouragement for me to patience while I remained clueless to anything but bliss from this situation. It was also about this time that we used the winch to try and move the cut sections of the tree out of the road. Now I was using a 9,000 lbs winch with a pulley system that had 18,000 lbs of moving strength and I could not get it to budge. So much to my disappointment I decided to give it up and come back another day with more equipment. We started cleaning up and then went to leave.
The car was absolutely dead.
Now I have mentioned that we first drove about an hour away from our house before we made the decision to hike in the snow. And from there another ten minutes in deep snow. What I have failed to mention is that all this driving was into the forest. So we were not only with a two ton paper weight on wheels, we were in the middle of nowhere. It was about ten to three in the afternoon when we started to hike. Needless to say it was a very silent walk for the first bit. But after a good pow wow, we were not only able to have a great hike, but also a great time doing it. So we decisded to hike home
The Hike
We started to walk. At first it was up hill in the snow (both ways, barefoot and only barbed wire for traction) but soon we made it to the crest of the hill we had driven to and started our decent. I figured that it would be at least 8 miles as the crow flies to the nearest phone and 11 miles if we took a road. There was also a cliff and a stream between us and that phone. But that does not deter the likes of us.
We went cross country straight off the cliff. It was about a 65 degree cliff and every two steps would take us almost 6 feet down. It was very slippery but because there was snow we could make plunge steps and keep our footing most of the time. We did this for an hour until we came to the road we were aiming for and then took the road several miles until we made it to pavement. Once on the pavement we hike for 4 miles. We tried to wave down two motorist. They looked, paused, and then drove away. Quickly.
We’ll since the last time we wrote you we have had a great adventure and found more clarity in the paths that the Lord is guiding us in.
Our adventure started after a hard day of tough conversations and work. As we were getting to bed, Matthew said, “Lets go for a hike tomorrow, we haven’t done something like that in a while.” Leslie thought that it was a great idea. The next day we got our stuff together and threw it in the back of the car, along with a chainsaw because the last time we wanted to go for a hike we were stopped by a downed tree.
After about an hour of driving, and cutting one tree, we had to chose between another hour of driving but hikeing in the high desert or a closer hike in knee deep snow. We chose the latter.
Now if you are not familiar with Matthew’s idea of fun then what happened next will resonate with you much the same way it resonated with Leslie. After choosing to hike in the snow we started to drive uphill and continue to gain elevation. Soon we were in deep snow and even with the chains on it was slow going. After ten minutes of breaking trail we came to an old growth Doug-Fir across the road.
I jumped out of the car and got the chainsaw fired back up in no time flat barely containing my joy for the challenge before me, the overwhelming sense of purpose and drive to clear the road and rescue my bride from the eminent danger from this tree. Leslie on the other hand could not fathom why we were wasting such valuable “us” time on cutting up a tree when we could be hiking. But being the supporting wife that she is, she let me have my fun and just prayed for me in the warm car as I showed that behemoth of a plant who was boss.
At hour mark Leslie was changing her prayers from encouragement for me to patience while I remained clueless to anything but bliss from this situation. It was also about this time that we used the winch to try and move the cut sections of the tree out of the road. Now I was using a 9,000 lbs winch with a pulley system that had 18,000 lbs of moving strength and I could not get it to budge. So much to my disappointment I decided to give it up and come back another day with more equipment. We started cleaning up and then went to leave.
The car was absolutely dead.
Now I have mentioned that we first drove about an hour away from our house before we made the decision to hike in the snow. And from there another ten minutes in deep snow. What I have failed to mention is that all this driving was into the forest. So we were not only with a two ton paper weight on wheels, we were in the middle of nowhere. It was about ten to three in the afternoon when we started to hike. Needless to say it was a very silent walk for the first bit. But after a good pow wow, we were not only able to have a great hike, but also a great time doing it. So we decisded to hike home
The Hike
We started to walk. At first it was up hill in the snow (both ways, barefoot and only barbed wire for traction) but soon we made it to the crest of the hill we had driven to and started our decent. I figured that it would be at least 8 miles as the crow flies to the nearest phone and 11 miles if we took a road. There was also a cliff and a stream between us and that phone. But that does not deter the likes of us.
We went cross country straight off the cliff. It was about a 65 degree cliff and every two steps would take us almost 6 feet down. It was very slippery but because there was snow we could make plunge steps and keep our footing most of the time. We did this for an hour until we came to the road we were aiming for and then took the road several miles until we made it to pavement. Once on the pavement we hike for 4 miles. We tried to wave down two motorist. They looked, paused, and then drove away. Quickly.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. As I sit here watching the snow come down I can't help but think about the ability of the snow and cold to slow people down. You have to drive slowly, you move slow and when you are cold you just think slower.
Slow has been the operative word for these last 2 months. And even though is has been slow it has also been a bit of a whopper for us. I am afraid that in keeping everyone out of the loop we have alienated many readers. For this I am sorry. For those of you who continue to check our blog I hope the next few entries provide some much needed information and brings you up to date on our little adventures.
It was January 3 ish that we where completely done with our application process and left it in the hands of the Board of Directors to approve us. After a few weeks we were sent a very peculiar email from the founders that left us feeling perplexed and a little discouraged. In it they mentioned one of the staff in SA was leaving and that they had some concerns about our expectations in going. They also said that we would most likely not use our business and counseling skills; a key reason we chose this group. They said that because they were just starting the boarding school we would spend most of our time doing labor, building and cleaning. We then corresponded with the staff member who was leaving to understand what had happened. She said that it was just a change in direction and that she would still recommend us to BHI. So we wrote back to the founders with our continued desire to come. We wrote out our expectations and understanding of the situation, along with some clarifying questions.
For a week we did not hear from them and then they wrote us to say they would consider our application on January 30. Again a week past and we heard nothing. The date came and went and another week passed. I finally called them a few days after our last blog entry to see what had been the hold up. They said that they had considered our application but had not made a decision. I asked them when the next time they might be able to make that decision. The first of March was the reply.
Needless to say this was more then a little discouraging. We then asked why they had not made a decision about us in the last meeting. They said that another staff member was leaving and they wanted us to have the opportunity to talk to him before we decided to go. We wrote him an email and asked what was going on. He didn’t reply for a week. So we started to make a plan.
We went to the beach cabin for four days; from February 11th to the 15th. The day we began our retreat to the cabin we fasted, prayed and sought God and His direction for us. We didn’t speak a lot and spent most of the seeking God individually. At the end of the day we compared notes and found that He had been telling us both, South Africa was not where he wanted us now.
Needless to say this was tough to take. We had worked for so long, tried so many different organizations, and had seen God move in incredible ways to get us there. We had quit both of our jobs, saved our money and rented out our house in preparation to go. We felt like we would be a great fit for this ministry. We had very deep and difficult feelings as God shut the door. I (Matthew) felt almost like I was in a state of morning, like my purpose in missions had ended. But God being God kept steering me back to his faithfulness. It wasn’t long after that I started to feel my heat awake to new ideas that He could be calling us too.
For Leslie it was even more freeing. Throughout the time of fasting God revealed to Leslie that she was holding on to Africa believing that this would be her only chance to serve there. God then asked her to trust him and this wasn’t the right time to go. Since the coast God had been working on her heart and using other women in Sisters to mend places in her heart by breaking down walls of protection and revealing lies she believed about herself. Things which she might not have taken the time to work on if we were preparing to go to SA.
As always, God has a plan for us and it is as adventurous as anything we could have come up with ourselves.
The rest of the vacation went great with Valentines Day and just a break from the stress of waiting. When we got back we told our parents what had happened and then wrote Bridges of Hope to withdraw our application. We also wrote to the staff member who had most recently quit and found that he had also quit on good terms.
It was awesome to see what God did next. He is so Faithful! Within three days of getting back we were already given three different ministries that could use help right now! As we prayerfully consider God’s calling in our lives be it overseas or here at home we would ask for your continued prayer for guidance.
We love you all and look forward to the adventure that awaits!
To God Be the GLORY!
Matthew and Leslie
Slow has been the operative word for these last 2 months. And even though is has been slow it has also been a bit of a whopper for us. I am afraid that in keeping everyone out of the loop we have alienated many readers. For this I am sorry. For those of you who continue to check our blog I hope the next few entries provide some much needed information and brings you up to date on our little adventures.
It was January 3 ish that we where completely done with our application process and left it in the hands of the Board of Directors to approve us. After a few weeks we were sent a very peculiar email from the founders that left us feeling perplexed and a little discouraged. In it they mentioned one of the staff in SA was leaving and that they had some concerns about our expectations in going. They also said that we would most likely not use our business and counseling skills; a key reason we chose this group. They said that because they were just starting the boarding school we would spend most of our time doing labor, building and cleaning. We then corresponded with the staff member who was leaving to understand what had happened. She said that it was just a change in direction and that she would still recommend us to BHI. So we wrote back to the founders with our continued desire to come. We wrote out our expectations and understanding of the situation, along with some clarifying questions.
For a week we did not hear from them and then they wrote us to say they would consider our application on January 30. Again a week past and we heard nothing. The date came and went and another week passed. I finally called them a few days after our last blog entry to see what had been the hold up. They said that they had considered our application but had not made a decision. I asked them when the next time they might be able to make that decision. The first of March was the reply.
Needless to say this was more then a little discouraging. We then asked why they had not made a decision about us in the last meeting. They said that another staff member was leaving and they wanted us to have the opportunity to talk to him before we decided to go. We wrote him an email and asked what was going on. He didn’t reply for a week. So we started to make a plan.
We went to the beach cabin for four days; from February 11th to the 15th. The day we began our retreat to the cabin we fasted, prayed and sought God and His direction for us. We didn’t speak a lot and spent most of the seeking God individually. At the end of the day we compared notes and found that He had been telling us both, South Africa was not where he wanted us now.
Needless to say this was tough to take. We had worked for so long, tried so many different organizations, and had seen God move in incredible ways to get us there. We had quit both of our jobs, saved our money and rented out our house in preparation to go. We felt like we would be a great fit for this ministry. We had very deep and difficult feelings as God shut the door. I (Matthew) felt almost like I was in a state of morning, like my purpose in missions had ended. But God being God kept steering me back to his faithfulness. It wasn’t long after that I started to feel my heat awake to new ideas that He could be calling us too.
For Leslie it was even more freeing. Throughout the time of fasting God revealed to Leslie that she was holding on to Africa believing that this would be her only chance to serve there. God then asked her to trust him and this wasn’t the right time to go. Since the coast God had been working on her heart and using other women in Sisters to mend places in her heart by breaking down walls of protection and revealing lies she believed about herself. Things which she might not have taken the time to work on if we were preparing to go to SA.
As always, God has a plan for us and it is as adventurous as anything we could have come up with ourselves.
The rest of the vacation went great with Valentines Day and just a break from the stress of waiting. When we got back we told our parents what had happened and then wrote Bridges of Hope to withdraw our application. We also wrote to the staff member who had most recently quit and found that he had also quit on good terms.
It was awesome to see what God did next. He is so Faithful! Within three days of getting back we were already given three different ministries that could use help right now! As we prayerfully consider God’s calling in our lives be it overseas or here at home we would ask for your continued prayer for guidance.
We love you all and look forward to the adventure that awaits!
To God Be the GLORY!
Matthew and Leslie
Friday, February 02, 2007
Hey all we just wanted to keep you in the loop. We have not been officially accepted by BHI yet but that is not uncommon as we are told by other staff. It has taken months for others to be accepted. So we will just sit back relax and try to learn what ever God has for us in this time of transition.
In the mean time Leslie works at a local coffee shop in town and is enjoying being around coffee. She recently rediscovered her love of HOT coffee drinks and is even more alert in the mornings then usual, if that were possible.
I have spent my time remolding my parents bathroom. It has been a bit of a laborious task but in the end it will be worth it. Replacing 30 year old linoleum for heated tile floors. Very Cool.
Tonight we are off to a BUNCO game in Sisters with Campus Crusade, bring on the dice,
Peace,
M&L
PS Please continue to pray for us as we try to continue to seek His face in these life choices.
In the mean time Leslie works at a local coffee shop in town and is enjoying being around coffee. She recently rediscovered her love of HOT coffee drinks and is even more alert in the mornings then usual, if that were possible.
I have spent my time remolding my parents bathroom. It has been a bit of a laborious task but in the end it will be worth it. Replacing 30 year old linoleum for heated tile floors. Very Cool.
Tonight we are off to a BUNCO game in Sisters with Campus Crusade, bring on the dice,
Peace,
M&L
PS Please continue to pray for us as we try to continue to seek His face in these life choices.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Wow it has been 2 weeks since I last posted anything on the blog. I am sorry. Lets see if I can recap.
Snow camping was an adventure. We hauled a homemade sled about a mile before we gave up and left it for my brother with a snowmobile that we were borrowing for the trip. There were 18 of us and we went 3.5 miles through beautiful country to a warming shelter in the woods. My brother and I went out looking for it the day before everyone arrived and tried to pack down a trail. Over night a huge storm dumped a foot of new snow on the ground and blew it into drifts 3 feet high. So we broke trail the whole way again. It was stormy almost the whole time and it never got above 20 degrees. The wind broke a tent pole in half during the night. IT WAS AWESOME! We all made it out safe thanks to some friends that showed up late with a couple more snowmobiles. I love being out doors in storms but not everyone was as excited about the 50 mph wind gusts as I. Overall, I think people had a good time.
The last two weeks have been tough for us. We still have not been officially accepted and it is tough to have to wait and wait. It has taught us that we still have a lot to lean about the way we communicate. It is amazing to me (Matt) how much I just don't understand women (I am supposed to be this great woo-er). I have been learning that love in deed is much more effective when needs are met first. ("thank you honey for the rose but you forgot to pay the bills again today").
As we continue to wait we ask for your prayers as we now have to weigh how to find temporary work, hiring the right contractor and continued patience.
We love you all,
M&L
Snow camping was an adventure. We hauled a homemade sled about a mile before we gave up and left it for my brother with a snowmobile that we were borrowing for the trip. There were 18 of us and we went 3.5 miles through beautiful country to a warming shelter in the woods. My brother and I went out looking for it the day before everyone arrived and tried to pack down a trail. Over night a huge storm dumped a foot of new snow on the ground and blew it into drifts 3 feet high. So we broke trail the whole way again. It was stormy almost the whole time and it never got above 20 degrees. The wind broke a tent pole in half during the night. IT WAS AWESOME! We all made it out safe thanks to some friends that showed up late with a couple more snowmobiles. I love being out doors in storms but not everyone was as excited about the 50 mph wind gusts as I. Overall, I think people had a good time.
The last two weeks have been tough for us. We still have not been officially accepted and it is tough to have to wait and wait. It has taught us that we still have a lot to lean about the way we communicate. It is amazing to me (Matt) how much I just don't understand women (I am supposed to be this great woo-er). I have been learning that love in deed is much more effective when needs are met first. ("thank you honey for the rose but you forgot to pay the bills again today").
As we continue to wait we ask for your prayers as we now have to weigh how to find temporary work, hiring the right contractor and continued patience.
We love you all,
M&L
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Sunday, December 31, 2006
The house is coming along...but slowly. We know it is all His and he will do with it as he sees fit in his time. Meanwhile we have been busy with chopping up the tree and removing debris. We also lost our well pump and as a result we have not had any water for the last 2 weeks. Two days ago they brought out a well driller and finally pulled the old pump and out in a new one. It has been a stressfull and long process but again we know that in all things he works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
The holidays have been a tough time. With the tree, no water and on top of all of it, both of us have been sick. It is just not any fun! We spent the first part of the holidays with Leslie's parents and then came over and had a Christmas with Matt's parents on the 29th.
Today we get ready for our annual New Years Eve celebration. We invite the community over and have a great time playing Full-Contact Pictionary until about 11:50 when we all grab sparkling cider and make our way to the back yard where we bring out our 20 foot tall tree, strap fireworks and bags of gasoline to it and then light it up in a huge ball of fire and smoke. It is Great!
Hope your New Year's is a Great one!
Love
Matt and Leslie
The holidays have been a tough time. With the tree, no water and on top of all of it, both of us have been sick. It is just not any fun! We spent the first part of the holidays with Leslie's parents and then came over and had a Christmas with Matt's parents on the 29th.
Today we get ready for our annual New Years Eve celebration. We invite the community over and have a great time playing Full-Contact Pictionary until about 11:50 when we all grab sparkling cider and make our way to the back yard where we bring out our 20 foot tall tree, strap fireworks and bags of gasoline to it and then light it up in a huge ball of fire and smoke. It is Great!
Hope your New Year's is a Great one!
Love
Matt and Leslie
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